Fentimans - World Gin Day

Celebrate World Gin Day in style with these awesome pre-mixed alcoholic gin drinks by Fentimans Ltd.

Perfectly balanced and ready to serve, these gin and tonics, and alcoholic gin beverages are great for any celebration and are easy to serve. Just grab a glass of your choice, add a few cubes of ice, preferably the right garnish and voila - gin served within seconds.

Living a busy life it's sometimes just that little bit easier to grab a pre-mixed bottle and bang it in a glass - as much as I do love to play around with the hundreds of gins on the market to find out what their perfect serves are. The convenience of these drinks is really beneficial, especially if you're looking to grab something from your house quickly before venturing over to a friends - and these drinks are great if you're not the most organised of people, especially when in a rush.

Having been established for over 110 years, family-run business Fentimans have grown their product offering from ginger beer and soft drinks to tonic waters and pre-mixed alcoholic drinks.

The rose lemonade and bloom gin is exceptionally sweet, as I had anticipated having tried the rose lemonade on its own. I could easily have one or two of these on a summers night, but I think after a while a drink so sweet would need to be swapped out for a good ol' regular gin and tonic. Oozing with floral tones - something I quite enjoy about this drink - the bloom gin and rose lemonade make this marriage a very sweet one.

The gin and tonic was completely different and much more crisp on the tongue. Bloom London Dry gin and Fentimans have partnered to bring their edition of the perfect gin and tonic to their customers in the easiest of fashions. Again, with slightly floral notes this gin is very much to my taste, but it's  the Fentimans tonic water which softens the sharp blow of gin creating within this beverage, making a  very delicious drink.

Both drinks are 275ml, a great size for transporting about, and for drinking of course. The ABV on both is 6.5%.

The only company in the UK to utilise botanical brewing is what makes Fentimans stand out with unique 3D flavours, the drinks have a depth of texture and a distinctive feel in your mouth and every drink takes seven days to brew using a combination of infusion, blending and fermentation of the natural ingredients. The best thing, none of their drinks have artificial sweetener, flavours, colours or preservatives All of the flavours are produced by hand from Chinese ginger root to rose oil from the Rose Valley in Bulgaria.

Also, the tonic waters were really tasty, and I really enjoyed the pink grapefruit tonic water. Having been served Rock Rose gin with a wedge of grapefruit, I partnered the Scottish gin with the pink grapefruit tonic water which went extremely well together. The slight bitterness of the tonic water complimented the sweet notes of the Rock Rose, creating a delicious partnership. I also tried the tonic out with Lone Wolf gin too and it worked really well.

The rose lemonade can be rather overpowering at times due to its pure sweetness, but partnered with a more earthy gin like Gordon Castle which also boasts notes of lavender I think this gin would go quite well with it. Any other earthier and more dry gins would also go really well too.

I decided to pair the original tonic water with Porter's gin and Esker gin as I felt these gins would be best suited to a plain tonic, and I was so right. Finish off with your perfect serve for each and you're definitely off to a winning combination there.

Whatever gin or alcoholic beverage your drinking to celebrate World Gin Day this year,  remember to raise a glass to the most fashionable spirit of the moment. And please, drink responsibly.

  For Now...

Just Julia

The Five Gin's of Aberdeen

Dry January is over which means now is the time for me to unpack my spirits collection, or more to the point, my gin collection.

Over the past year or so, the Aberdeen gin scene has grown dramatically, with five stunning gins gracing our palettes from across the city and shire. From the lowlands of the outskirts of Inverurie, to an underground room in one of Aberdeen's finest speakeasy's, the gin market is taking Aberdeen storm, and I'm loving every minute of it. Being extremely lucky in managing to grace the presence of all of the gin distillers behind the gins listed below, I wanted to highlight what makes these gins so special and why they'd make a cracking addition to any gin lovers collection. 

Gin has become the most fashionable drink of the moment, with it now being one of, if not the most popular spirits to purchase. Quicker and easier to make than whisky, gin is becoming the more favourable spirit to distill and with over 70% of the gin consumed in the UK coming from Scotland, - we're clearly on to something good.

No mater how much I learn about the process of distilling gin, or the best garnishes to accompany the many gins out there with, I cannot commend the individuals behind these delicious drinks more for the incredible lengths they go to to please our palettes.

So here's to putting Aberdeen on the gin map, one gin at a time....

Photo rights belong to Porter's Gin

Porter's Gin:

Born from a passion and love of good food and drink, Porter's, which was launched in December 2015 by three young gintrepreneurs, was the first gin to be distilled in Aberdeen city for over 100 years. With the help of the UK's oldest gin distillers, G&J Distillers, Porter's was brought to the market and is now available across the UK.

The classic London Dry style gin prides itself on its unique blend of traditional and modern  distillation techniques, utilising cold distillation methods to take advantage of the botanicals flavours which produce lighter notes when distilled at cooler temperatures. With the ethical sourcing of their botanicals at the heart of the business, every individual botanical has been used for a reason, and that reasoning, has resulted in the exquisite taste Porter's boasts today. The gin is well-known for using Buddha's hand and pink peppercorn botanicals in its recipe.

Porter's boasts a citrus flavour with a warm touch to finish on the palette. It is decadent and light, and is very flavoursome for being a London Dry.

Porter's Gin is 41.5% ABV.

Recommended serve: premium tonic water, ice, and orange peel/also cracking in a gin-based cocktail

Photo rights belong to The Teasmith

The Teasmith:

The first Scottish gin to be distilled with hand-picked tea, the gin, which the original recipe originates from rural Udny, Aberdeenshire, takes its inspiration from the rich heritage tale which links Aberdeenshire to the international tea trade. Distilled in the Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire, The Teasmith is the brainchild of Emma and Nick Smalley, who launched the gin at the end of 2016.

Main botanicals include; juniper, coriander, pure liquorice root, hand-picked tea and orange peel. All of its botanicals are distilled not once, but twice, and bottles from the second batch are now currently available to purchase.

The Teasmith boasts a unique flavour due to the tea leaves used, however, it doesn't overpower the other ingredients meaning it has a nicely rounded off finish.

The Teasmith is 43% ABV.

Recommended serve: premium tonic water, ice and a sprig of mint

Photo rights belong to Esker Gin

Esker Gin:

Created in Royal Deeside by husband and wife team, Steven and Lynne Duthie, Esker Gin was born from a loving passion for the alcoholic beverage, so much so, the duo decided to produce it commercially after 18 months of fine-tuning the recipe.

What's unique about Esker, is the botanicals it uses, especially its signature botanical, silver birch sap which is collected from the trees from the Kircardine Estate. The trees can only be tapped for sap in Spring, which means Lynne and Steve have to collect as much as they can before the season ends.

Esker is a refreshing, light, sweet (in my opinion) gin, which warms the palette and is slightly floral on the end. The artisan gin is distilled and bottled in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire.

Esker Gin is 42% ABV.
Recommended serve: premium tonic water, ice and a twist of orange zest

Photo rights belong to House of Elrick

House of Elrick:

The newest addition to the Aberdeen gin family, House of Elrick originates from the lowlands of Aberdeenshire at the House of Elrick estate which is oozing in rich in history.

The hand crafted, artisan, small batch gin boasts an array of citrus botanicals, as well as heather, sweet fennel and rose petals. The only gin to be made using the water from the most famous loch, Loch Ness, the taste profile of the gin is fresh, and slightly earthy. Advocates for championing the use of local farmers and suppliers, House of Elrick ensures quality is at the core of its product.

House of Elrick is a delicate gin, boasting a sweet, slightly floral finish, with a hit of an earthier taste profile added as a result of the botanicals and water used.

House of Elrick is 42% ABV.
Recommended serve: premium tonic water, ice and a twist of orange zest served as a helix (also rim your glass with the orange zest)

Photo rights belong to Indian Summer Gin

Indian Summer:
Another gin created in Aberdeenshire, this time in Huntly, Indian Summer gin uses one of the world's most expensive spices by weight - saffron - which is infused into the gin, giving the gin a warm, rich, aromatic flavour.

The gin presents a golden-yellow hue to it, unlike any of the other Aberdeen gins, and is bottled at a much higher ABV than the others too.

Indian Summer is a much spicier gin than the others, and boasts a more exotic taste due to using botanicals from across the world. It is the only Aberdeen gin to boast any colour hue to it, which makes it very different from the others above.

Indian Summer is 46% ABV.
Recommended serve: premium tonic water, ice and either a wedge of lime or a slice of lemon

I'd be really interested in hearing what your favourite Aberdeen gin is, and what garnishes you prefer to use in the different gins - I love adding a handful of berries to my gins and  also enjoy adding strawberries with black pepper to certain gins. If you haven't tasted any of the Aberdeen gins, what gins do you love the most? 

I'd also love to find out if anyone has ever used flowers as a gin garnish? I've been thinking of trying out rose petals or lavender in gin serves but I'm unsure if this would completely ruin the taste. I'm thinking about the whole sprig of rosemary concept with this idea.

  

  For Now...

Just Julia

Orchid Aberdeen: Winter menu preview

It doesn't take a lot for me to agree to go for cocktails. Ask my friends, it really doesn't. So when I was invited along to Orchid Aberdeen's winter menu preview there was no chance I was missing out...

Heading down to the bar one chilly Thursday evening, we were greeted by the bar team, and bar manager, Nick Gordon, and welcomed into the cosy, modern bar with open arms. An avid customer of the bar, and almost boredering regular status, I immediately felt at home.

Split into three different stations, the event was goign to showcase the new menu, cocktail mixology and gin tasting. Naturally, and on cue we all formed into smaller groups and headed to our first stations. Gin tasting it was.

Brand Ambassador of Porter's Gin, Sean Moggach, talked us through the history of gin, explaining the journey of gin since the 19th century, and chatted about how the team at Porter's ended up where they are today. After two years of trial and error and a solid gin recipe featuring 12 botanicals under their belt, the trio behind the Scottish gin created what Porter's is today, a delicious, zesty London Dry gin.

With a distinct understanding and appreciate of time and taste, the team behind Porter's managed to create what they see as the ideal London Dry style of gin which can be used in any drink - liquid gold to any bartender. By using exotic fruits like Buddha's hand and pink peppercorns, Porter's offers the market something very different. Sean also told us the stories (and fables) of Old Tom and commented on the popularity, and the accessibility gin boasts.

Sampling Porter's Gin, and the type of gin people used to drink back in the 19th century, its safe to say gin has come a long way in appealing to the palette.

Moving on to the second station we were invited to have a wee chin-wig with Nick, chatting all things cocktails and the concept behind the new menu launching this month.

After an inspiring visit to New Orleans, and learning about concepts carried out in the US, Nick was keen to put his new found knowledge into practice. He wanted to remove the stigma that seems to be the opinion of many that there is nothing to do in Aberdeen.

With a menu consisting of eight different spirits and drinks, the concept is simple...order a drink which is associated with an Aberdeen landmark, visit that place, take a selfie, post the photo on social media, return to the bar to collect your special badge and repeat again for the seven other drinks/locations. Once you've collected all the badges (and all the selfies), return to the bar and you will receive the honour of having your name printed on the next cocktail menu - pretty cool huh!? Not only is there the chance to have your name printed on a cocktail menu, you're also visiting a number of the cities landmarks and expriencing places you may have never been before.

The locations include;

•  Porter's Lock-in. You guessed it, it features Porter's gin. (Religious Robbery)
• 13 King Street. This drink has whisky in it due to the location being the old headquarters for whisky giants Chivas Regal back in the day.
• Fittie.  Due to its connections with the sea, Fittie is the perfect place to associate this drink which features rum with...(Honey Rider)
• Aberdeen Beach. A cocktail with a twist on a daiquiri - white rum features.
• Duthie Park. The Beerlini - perfect on a summers day...
• Music Hall. £1 from every cocktail made in association with this cocktail is donated to Meningitis UK
• Secret Location. Grab the infamous Pink Orchid right there in the bar. They couldn't make it any more obvious if they tried...
• A local bartender who cannot be named for the purposes of fun and mischievous games, is also on the list of selfies to gain - I cannot wait for this person to find out who they are, and I'm delighted I guessed it right! My lips are sealed for now though...

The bar will also offer six bottled cocktails that are non-perishable on its new menu. These cocktails will also be available for delivery straight to your door through food delivery company, Deliveroo.

Beerlini

 Grapefruit cordial, salted Campari and topped with lager - a twist on a traditional bellini, but with beer instead of prosecco

Religious Robbery

Porter's Gin, a spiced pineapple syrup, coconut juice and a dash of Dr Adam Elmegirab's Teapot Bitters.

Honey Rider 

Mango infused rum, grapefruit oleo saccharum and Dr Adam Elmegirab's Orinoco Bitters. 

Fun fact: This is an Old Fashioned style drink which was named after the first ever Bond girl.

Last but not least, we were treated to a mini cocktail masterclass with Matt. To begin with, he fixed us up a refreshing daiquiri and talked us through the history behind the infamous drink and sours. Educating us on sours and how they are the most accessible drink, we learned about the first bartender to write things down, Jerry Thomas, and how he began creating drinks lists - now drinks menus. We then learned about Jennings Cox who established the daiquiri which was very interesting too.

Next, he put our cocktails skills to the test, getting us to make our very own Pink Orchid. A signature drink of the bar, and the only drink to have managed to secure a spot on every menu since the bar launched in 2009, the Pink Orchid is a must-try. Smooth, sweet and extremely delicious I can highly recommend this drink.

Pink Orchid

Vanilla Vodka, Raspberry Liqueur, Cranberry Juice, Lime Juice, Sugar Syrup and Egg White.

As a group, we were tasted to create our own sour cocktail which was extremely fun. After tasting, smelling and a lot of debating, we decided on our very own Beauregarde sours. Created with Porter's Gin, violet liqueur, lemon juice and agave, the cocktail tasted exactmly like parma violets, hence the connection with Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We got so excited by our creation that we also came up with the perfect place to associate the cocktail with - Aberdeen's very own Botanical Gardens. Sadly we didn't win the cocktail competition, but this cocktail was a winner in my eyes. I'd actually sampled something quite similar at the Butchershop in Glasgow, so was pretty impressed with the drink. (You can read my review of The Butchershop here).

To finish the evening off, we were then treated to some cheese and meat platters which went down great with everyone. A little merry to say the least, everyone was excited about the addition of food into the mix. It may have been nice to have some food whilst indulging in all the drinks to help soak up some of the alcohol, however I had no issues delving into it after the evening had finished.

A big thanks to the team at Orchid for hosting us, and giving us a sneak peak of what's to come! The new menu launches very soon (mid - end of Nov) so keep an eye out on their social media pages for when it launches.

  For Now...

Just Julia

Banchory Beer Festival: Top five things you can't miss

Banchory Beer Festival returns for a its second 'Beer @ the Barn' event which is running from the 12th - 13th of February 2016. Held indoors at the Woodend Barn in Banchory, the festival will showcase a unique selection of beers, ciders, gins and rums, supporting local and national producers with quality, artisan products at the heart of their business'.

After attending its sister festival; Inverurie Beer Festival last September, I was pretty chuffed to get the opportunity to attend Aberdeen's first 2016 beer festival of the year.

Getting a sneak peek into the festivals offering, I've pulled together a list of my top five things to try at Banchory Beer Festival this year...

1. Porter's Gin:
This will be the first festival the Aberdeen-made gin will be exhibiting at, showcasing one of the finest gins in town. After attending the official launch of the gin, this is definitely something you'll want to get your lips around.

2. Dark Matter Distillers:
Returning for a second year, Scotland's first ever distilled rum will be teasing the tastebuds of those budding festivalgoers looking for something a little different to sample at the festival . In my opinion, best served with ginger beer/ginger ale or Summerhouse Fizz hint o'mint lemonade. Divine.

3. Cromarty Brewing Co:
After sampling the breweries Rogue Wave craft beer (which was pretty wicked if I do say so myself - a very hoppy pale ale) at a another Aberdeen craft beer festival, I urge you to check these guys out. A family run business based in Cromarty, these guys have a serious passion for the brewing industry and have mastered the art of perfecting craft beer.

4. Isle of Harris Gin:
Another newbie to the UK mainland festival scene. This gin is said to have a great balance of flavours between bitter juniper and pine, and the sweet fruity flavours of mango, grapefruit and orange. A gin I've never tried, although, I'm very much looking forward to enjoying a tipple or two! Distillers of this sensational gin suggest it's best served with Walter Gregor's Scottish Tonic (yet another I need to try), a few drops of their sugar kelp aromatic water, and should be garnished with red grapefruit to a wedge of fresh lime.

5. The music: 
Local Aberdeen city and shire bands, because what's not to love about local people producing sweet, sweet music and serenading a bunch of festivalgoers? With acts including The Sunshine Social, The Liver Conditions, Full Fat and the Funky Pieces as well as The Mat Ferret Band, you Banchory Beer Festival newcomers are in for a treat.

The festival will also play host to over 15 beers from breweries such as St Andrews Brewing Co Six Degrees North, Alechemy Brewing and a few others. There will also be six ciders to sample and local catering business, Hudson's Catering, will be serving up a wide rage of flavoursome curries as well as Indian finger food.

Tickets to the festival can be purchased online here: http://www.banchorybeerfestival.com/tickets.php. But hurry, the festival sold out of tickets last year so get them whilst you can!

  For Now...

Just Julia 

Porter's Gin launch and Orchid's sixth birthday bash

Cocktails, or gin, cocktails or gin? For anyone who knows me, making quick decisions can be extremely challenging for me; the meaning of indecisive is me in a nutshell. However, when I received an invite to my favourite bar's birthday bash, and the launch of Porter's gin, its safe to say this was one decision that would be made in a heartbeat.

Orchid has been, and still is, one of my favourite cocktail bars in Aberdeen. The talented, creative team behind the bar put their heart and soul into the business, mastering the art of cocktail making presenting works of art right in front of customers faces. With cocktails on my mind (which they very much are majority of the time), I headed to the bar one cold December evening to indulge in some liquid gold.

On arrival to celebrate this special evening, guests were treated to a fantastic fizzy bellini, welcomed into the cosy bar to begin the celebrations and most importantly hear all about the gin everyone is talking about. What I love about a good old Orchid birthday bash, is the generosity and kind-heartedness of owner, Ben Iravani. For one hour during the celebrations a free bar is called, and all that is asked of guests is for those getting a drink is to put some money in the jar for the bar's chosen charity. A real nice touch if you ask me.

Anyway, back to the point; the gin.

Yes it's bottling/labelling is extremely professional, and yes it tastes phenomenal, but my favourite thing about this gin is that it's the first gin in over 100 years to be distilled in my home town, Aberdeen.

The gin has been created by three talented masterminds (see below for my seven things you need to know about Porter's Gin), who have used a number of different, unusual botanicals, and perfected distilling techniques to create this wee beauty. And oh what a beauty it is.

Porter's Gin: The seven things you need to know...

• It was created by drinks enthusiast trio: Ben Iravani, Alex Lawrence and Josh Rennie.
• It is the first gin to be distilled in Aberdeen in over 100 years, and it tastes bloody delicious.
• The gin is named after Professor Andrew Porter of Aberdeen University, after he sourced a rotary evaporator for the trio who then put it to the test to create the gin. (A very snazzy piece of equipment indeed!)
• The temperature the gin is distilled at plays a huge part in its taste. (Did you really think they would give this information away, come on guys!)
• The modern, cold-distilled part of the gin is created in Aberdeen. The traditional part of the gin was achieved by working with a UK distillery which has over 250 years experience in the art of gin making.
• The 'distillery' where the gin is cold-distilled was once an old garage.
• The gin boasts twelve botanicals, one of the main botanicals being Buddha's Hand; a citrus fruit with finger-like segments which resembles a human hand!

If you haven't already managed to sample the gin, don't panic, you can sample the tipple at Orchid or its sister bar, 99 Bar and Kitchen, although, I have a feeling this specific gin will be gracing the shelves of many other bars in Aberdeen and will prove extremely popular with us Scots. 

Orchid also has a number of different cocktails on their latest menu which incorporates the gin into its drinks offering. I would definitely recommend the Spruce Almighty, Porter's Fizz or Kamm Doon Son! All very tasty and very smooth on the palette. Or, you could always go for a traditional gin and tonic, classy and satisfying, what more could you want from a drink!? Sláinte!

  For Now...

Just Julia